The Trials of Tir na Nog
by C. Selene Belle
Summary: 20 years old and no direction to go, seems to be Sarah's life story nowadays. Just when it seemed things couldn't get any lower, the tables seem to turn in her favor as she is transported mysteriously back to the Underground.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Just when things couldn't get any worse . . . Not that things were bad to begin with. Just – there. When asked if she was fine, she would reply with a "yes" because, in truth, she was. When asked how things were going for her, she would say, "They're going."

"How's life, Sarah?"

With a shrug, the answer came, "Life."

There really wasn't any other way to put into words the way things were going for young Sarah Williams. It was as if she simply existed, because she could never really say exactly why she existed; what her existence was there for. She would surround herself with beautiful imagery, pictures of the fae, of fantastical places that exist only in the imagination of the human being. She did this to forget. Forget the real world, the harsh cruelty of it, the filth of it, the mundane existence of it.

She lay on her floor, a pillow fluffed haphazardly under her head, staring up at the ceiling. The sunshine was bright today, and she welcomed it readily into her colorful room. Sunshine was, after all, important to her. It was brilliance, light, hope, whatever you wish to call it. Seeing such brilliance flood into her room made the colors of the walls that much brighter, and made her imagination flow.

Colors were also very important. It seemed, Sarah would think to herself, that the world only sees black and white and grey. No colors, no imagination… no life. How had she come to live in such a humorless, colorless world? A magic-less world.

Despite the happiness and color she would surround herself with everyday while in her room, thinking like she does usually brought up unwanted emotions. It's been two years since she graduated, of course her parents expected things of her. Go to college, get a degree, maybe find a well paying job. Sarah huffed, rolling over to her side and digging her hand underneath her head. She felt the pressure at her eyes, telling her that they threatened to shed tears in vain – tears of sorrow for herself and her position.

She was 20. She should have a job by now, be in college, be half-way to earning her degree. Then it would be off the conveyer belt of life to join the rest of the crowd, meandering along to view the world just like everyone else did – grayscale. Then she would end up wanting money, sacrificing happiness for success, for power, for anything to keep going in the Earthen world. For that was how things worked here among humans. Aside from all her struggling, all of her wishing, she would eventually have to give up her fight for color and magic.

Sarah would shudder every time she imagined how that day would come. She always saw herself stepping down from a sunlit pedestal, into the grey shadows of a sea of unhappy people who walked along their paths slowly and alone.

Before she knew it, hot tears were escaping her blue-grey eyes. She closed them in vain, to stop the empty tears, telling herself it wasn't worth crying for. She was born here on Earth and here is where she must remain. And if she were to remain here, she should eventually learn to adapt to this place. Still she fought her father and stepmother's wishes.

"Sarah, you need to get a job. How do you expect to support yourself when you move out?"

"Sarah, when are you going to go to college? I know you want to pursue acting, but you should always have something else to fall back on."

"Sarah, stop daydreaming and do something with your life, for God's sake."

"Grow up, Sarah. Fairytales aren't for girls your age."

Sarah didn't realize just how tightly she was grabbing her pillow, or how forcefully she pushed her face into it to muffle her sobs. Her heart was beating so hard, it hurt. It longed for something this pathetic Earthen world could never offer her. She had once thought that her position was bad enough, when she was 15. She had a taste of adventure. She merely scratched the surface of fae life. Since that experience, it warped her thinking. It proved that there was something more, something much more fitting to her and who she was, maybe even who she was supposed to be.

She left behind friends in that mystical place, friends that can't be found among humans. They had been so special to her, but she found she couldn't call them. Not after that night. The magic had faded as her sorrow grew, nearly suffocating her.

"Goblin King…" Sarah choked, half muffled by her pillow, "Where ever you may be. Take me away from this awful place. Please…" She had to struggle just to control her voice, pleading with empty air. "Please, take me away. Take me away… I don't belong here. I don't belong in this terrible world." She cried and cried until her eyes hurt too much to continue. Her breathing slowed a bit when she began to lose the energy to cry anymore.

Sarah's face was damp from tears, her raven hair sticking to places on her face. She brushed away the annoying strands and her head fell back to her pillow. Her mind empty of any more profound though, all that was left was empty sorrow as she stared at the dying sunlight. She didn't want to think, refused herself the right to do so – even for just a few more moments.

Rainbow colors struck her sore, reddened eyes just then. The sun was setting and hit a prism-like object from her desk just by the window. She brought up a hand, squinting away the shock from the sudden color filled glare, admiring the little rainbow on her delicate hand. When she bothered to look at the source of her private rainbow, she couldn't really find the correct reaction at first.

She just stared, trying to place the object. Her breathing became somewhat erratic after a few more moments, her eyes never leaving it. She climbed to her feet, unblinking and slowly approaching the mystical item on her desk. Still, she stared, not daring to touch it, mystified and entranced.

For on the desk's surface rested a perfect crystalline sphere.

_Author's note: So, my sister bugged me enough, I suppose, and I've picked this up again. For those of you who might recognize the story, well, it's been here before, but is undergoing some revamping. For those of you who don't know it, you get to discover it. Um - in any case, feel free to leave a contribution in the little box... er, not money. Just reviews. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

"Sarah! Dinner's ready!" came her stepmother's voice from beyond Sarah's bedroom door. The sudden sound, muffled though it was, came loudly to the young girl's ears and rudely interrupted her euphoric state of being. She blinked, her eyes focusing again to comprehend the brief summon.

"Okay!" she yelled back, not daring to take her eyes off the crystal sphere. She still hadn't dared to touch such an immaculate piece of perfection. The magic that flowed from its very core was easily detected by Sarah's trembling hand as it was poised over the object. Her fingers wriggled slightly as she felt the magical aura, feeling something not dissimilar to static electricity. As she did this, amazing – though brief – images flashed through her mind's eye, making her jump and take her hand away. Like a bubble, the sphere popped. Sarah's heart shattered.

"No!" she cried out, distraught.

"Sarah, come on! It's going to get cold!"

Furious at the maddening, irate sound of her stepmother's voice, she turned and finally stalked out of her room and downstairs. Karen, much to Sarah's annoyance, was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with a hand on her hip. The woman's eyes, heavily lined and shaded below perfectly fake brows, were nearly livid at the sight of her step-daughter's rigid form.

"When I say dinner's ready, try to come down a little sooner. Will you? We've been waiting for ten minutes already!" huffed Karen, not waiting for an explanation and quickly turning.

"Ten minutes?" returned Sarah, angry for the loss of her dreams and her chance to finally see them again; angry at her step-mother's mere presence. They never did get along well. "I wasn't up there that long after you called! Stop exaggerating just to blame me for something!"

Karen turned again, her apron ruffling about her as she stopped very suddenly to face Sarah. "It was 6:10 when I called you down and it is now 6:19." She pointed at the clock with an exasperated sigh. "See for yourself." Deciding enough was said on the subject, she went back into the dining room where her husband and son waited.

Sarah looked at the clock, determined to prove the women wrong. Alas, her jaw dropping, she saw to her dismay that the witch was right. Annoyed, she let out a grumble and stopped into the dining room after Karen. She dropped into her seat at the table, folding her arms with a sour look upon her face. Apparently, while Karen was calling her down to dinner, Toby and her dad had sneaked some food onto their plates and already began to eat.

"Oh, you two!" said Karen, drastically changing her mood towards husband and son, playfully scolding them for starting dinner without her and Sarah. She, too, took her seat and began to serve herself something that resembled a Spanish beef stew with onions and green bean casserole as a side.

"I couldn't wait anymore, mommy." Said Toby, still having trouble correctly pronouncing his R's.

Karen looked to Robert, who could only shrug with a half-smile upon his face as he gladly chewed his green beans. Sarah served herself, and the dinner commenced, without much excitement, of course. Everyone was too involved in their meals to ask any questions about anyone's day. Not that Sarah really wanted to talk about her day. Because when that happened, then they'd ask about her week, then her month and eventually it would lead up to her life becoming a complete waste of time.

"Mommy says you're going crazy." Toby said casually, sitting directly across from Sarah. He bounced happily upon his seat, gazing pleasantly towards his half-sister.

Sarah, having been contemplating on her own thoughts with a bowed head and not caring much for dinner, only looked up slightly to stare at her half-brother. Had she just heard that right? She snapped her gaze towards Karen at that point, her eyes narrowed and hurt.

"Toby!" scolded Karen, "Don't talk like that about your sister."

"But you said . . ." argued the five-year-old.

"Now, Toby. Your mother was only frustrated. She didn't mean was she said." Said Robert, mostly to Sarah herself in an attempt to calm her down from the rage he saw building up within her.

"Didn't she?" Sarah asked sharply. She dropped her fork onto the plate still full of Spanish beef stew, standing. "I'm not hungry. I think I'll go to bed. Goodnight."

No one at the dinner table bothered arguing with her, begging her to stay. They all just watched her leave the room and climb the stairs, eventually hearing the door to her room slam shut.

In another tearful fit, Sarah had thrown herself onto her quilt-covered half-canopy bed, burying her face in her soft sham pillows. What Karen might have said about her might not have been far from the truth. Maybe she was going crazy. She certainly felt as if her life was going no where. Nothing meant much to her anymore. She only thought about things that didn't exist, coveted those things and then raged when her mind finally let her know that she couldn't have them. It wasn't fair – and this time is really wasn't!

It wasn't fair that she had to live here.

It wasn't fair that she had to leave her friends behind.

It wasn't fair that she wasn't what she wanted and needed to be!

Damn it, it's not fair at all!

_Get a grip on yourself, Sarah_, her mind told her. _You're supposed to be older than this, smarter than this! You know life isn't fair! You know it! _She sobbed, chanting those words in her mind. Over and over, she would say them to herself. Until finally she asked:

"If it's not fair, why do I feel that it should at least be different?"

Then the answer appeared to her, though not in the form of words. As she was looking to her night stand beside her bed, there appeared another crystalline sphere. The happiness and relief that flooded her heart could not have been measured as she saw such a perfect thing silently offer itself to Sarah as it sat there. A small whimper escaped her lips, her mind subconsciously wanting to whisper out a small vow of thanks but the thought never completing itself into words.

Without really thinking this time, and without further hesitation, she grabbed the sphere. An electric jolt ran through her arm, tingling her brain. Images. Thousands upon thousands of images flashed through her mind, images of such beauty and splendor not found anywhere on earth. The experience was disorienting. She was short of breath, feeling a breeze as she watched the alarming array of images pass her by with an amazing speed.

It stopped.

It happened very suddenly, as if everything was sucked up into a vacuum and taken away. Sarah found herself lounged on her bed, half sitting up, the crystal sphere clutched to her chest. Her legs were cramped, as well as her hands from the grip she had on the crystal. It was also very dark. The moon was out and she could see its light streaming in from the window is pale blue hues, tinting everything in her room with an almost magical glow.

Slowly, she stood up from her bed, still holding the crystal protectively to her chest. Looking over towards the clock radio, she saw that it was nearly ten o'clock at night.

"I really am going crazy." Sarah said dejectedly to herself. "Unless . . ." She looked down at the sphere, examining it closely. No dreams floating around inside, she determined. Maybe its magic was spent. Or whatever it did to show her the dreams. Or were they even dreams? Whatever it did, it brought her into a place where time had no meaning, or maybe where time went by differently.

All of it was very odd, nonetheless. It felt to her as if only a few moments passed by, when in fact it was more like a few hours. Exactly what was going on?

The wind blew outside, rustling the trees just outside her bedroom window. The sound made her gaze towards its source, when her ears caught something else coming from outside. Very faintly, she could hear voices; voices calling her name.

"Sarah . . ." called the voices, carried upon the soft breeze. Her heart clenched at the sound. To follow them would be to admit that she really had gone insane, for who in their right mind would follow voices without knowing their source? She was torn, she wanted to go outside, or at least bid them welcome.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to ignore the sounds, deciding it was just the breeze playing tricks on her ears. It's just the trees in the wind, she thought to herself, smiling down at her lovely new prize in her hands.

"Help us . . ." whispered the voices. They had invaded her mind and were whispering all around her now. She turned about in her place, frightened by the suddenness in which the voices appeared. "Help us . . . Sarah."

She was losing her sense of reality, feeling her sanity slipping through her fingers as the voices called. Varying degrees of distances seemed to be the source of the voices. From far away, then from right beside her, they whispered and beckoned for her help. What was more disconcerting and most frightening of all, the voices seemed to speak to her from inside her mind, as loud as a train's passage. They were anguished, frightened, and desperate. As beautiful as they were, it made Sarah's human heart ache to hear such sadness from them.

She had little choice but to follow them and she found herself running outside of her house, the crystal still clutched firmly in her fist. She ran and ran until her lungs burned, ignoring everything around her. Occasionally the voices became so loud, she had to stop and cover her ears; mostly in vain. Letting out a whimper, she finally continued on down the quiet streets of her small town, deserted at this time of night and barely lit with the dim street lamps about the square.

It wasn't until she finally stopped to really rest that she noticed anything peculiar. Her legs ached, her lungs were tight. She tried to catch her breath, leaning heavily against the stone railing of the little bridge in the park. The peculiar thing was that the voices stopped. But something much more noticeable began and it was rather disorienting at first.

As she looked around her park (and she used the term loosely, of course, as she was one of the few people who still visited), she noticed shifting patches of . . . grass? No. No words could easily describe the incredible sight before her – all around her, in fact. She turned around, and she noticed several places were shifting into an illuminate patch of complete, awe-striking beauty before disappearing again. All around her, the patches faded in and out like that. Sarah smiled, her eyes wide.

Magic was at work here.

"What's going on?" she wondered aloud to herself.

"Don't you know?" squeaked a voice from behind her. Startled nearly out of her mind, Sarah turned. There upon the wooden rail of the bridge was a strange little creature. It was grinning at her, casually lounging on the wooden beam, its dingy skin tinged with blue. Her face was somewhat long (Sarah decided that it must be female), her head adorned with small bits of foliage in the fashion of a wreath, and her body was lithe. But what was most unusual about her was this: where Sarah had expected to see legs similar to human form, were instead hoofs similar to the hind legs of a deer. The little sprite's wings fluttered restlessly, her long pointed tail twitching and thumping against the wood.

"What are you?" Sarah was compelled to ask. Her response was a look of annoyance and scoff of exasperation from the little creature.

"That is the rudest thing I've ever heard!" leered the girl-creature. "Why? What are you?"

"Well, I'm a human."

"Well, I'm a moon sphinx." Came the immediate retort, tilting her nose up into the air.

It was after a moment of awkward silence that Sarah realized her surroundings had drastically changed. In place of her familiar moonlit city park and pond was a clearing in what looked like a forest. Not just any clearing and not just any forest. The clearing itself was small and a little cramped, but it was beautiful and it was lush with plant life. Wildflowers grew in sporadic patches here and there, and the bridge she stood on (only now realizing it was wood instead of stone) provided safe passage over a small creak. Despite the twilight, everything around Sarah looked bright and magical.

"It's like a fairytale. A real fairytale."

"Fairy tail?" piped the little sphinx girl. She made a face, "Faeries don't have tails. They have big, big attitudes they like to call proper fae manners. Treats most of us like the filthiest, lowest scum in the Bog at the Labyrinth."

Sarah was still trying to figure out exactly how to take all of this. First the voices, then this "moon sphinx" shows up and talks to her, and to top it all off, her entire surroundings change. Although, before she was going to self-diagnose herself with schizophrenia, her mind finally registered what the sphinx said.

"Did you say the Labyrinth?" she asked timidly, holding her crystal a little tighter. The sphinx rolled her eyes and launched herself into the air. Quick as lightening, she was hovering inches away from Sarah's face, beating her wings furiously to keep herself aloft. The small breeze from the creatures wings wafted through Sarah's raven hair, and she blinked several times to get the sudden gusts of air out of her eyes.

"Are you sure you're human?" squeaked the sphinx. With amazing speed, she circled her larger companion, stopping only a few times to smell a little fistful of hair, tug at Sarah's ear, or poke her round and rosy cheek. "Look human." She determined. Then, quite forcefully and rudely, she pulled on Sarah's eye lid to gaze at the girl's unusual irises. "The eyes, though . . . Hmm." It was all she could say before Sarah batted the annoying creature away from her eyes.

With a tiny squeal, the sphinx flew through the air by the force of Sarah's blow, landing not so gracefully in a pile of leaves.

"That thing's almost as bad as faeries!" Sarah muttered to herself, watching as the sphinx slowly sat up, holding her awkward little head.

The sphinx gave a pathetic little moan. "That wasn't very nice, you know." Managed the creature. Unsteadily, she stood on her deer-like legs, wobbling a little left and a little right before violently shaking her head to clear the dizziness. With a sigh, Sarah relented, looking a little more relaxed and even apologetic.

"Alright. I'm sorry. But you really shouldn't poke and prod people like that. That's not very nice either." The human girl kneeled upon the luscious green grass, to better see her little companion. The sound of the creak was calming and she let her new situation clear her head of Earthly thoughts. Only seemed like the proper thing to do, considering that she was most likely in the Underground again. "What's your name, anyway?"

The sphinx looked up with a confused expression upon her blue-tinted face. "Name?" she asked, sticking out her tongue as she thought very hard about – something. Then it dawned on her, "Oh! A name! Right, name… my name."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Your name. What are you called?"

"Hmm…" hummed the sphinx, placing a very long finger upon her lips. Finally, she decided it was time to answer, her mouth hanging open for a moment in reluctance. "Er – I'm not sure if you'd understand it. It's in a Fae language. Humans probably don't know Fae languages…"

"Try me." Sarah shrugged.

"Okay." Said the sphinx, still uncertain. "My name is Jii'chiriche."

To Sarah's ears, the name sounded more musical then vocal, as it seemed to be omitting some important syllables for her human ears. Sarah braved it.

"Jicheeryche?"

The sphinx's face lit up. "Hey! Whaddya know! You heard it! Well, not all of it, but close enough."

Sarah smiled proudly and nodded in affirmation. "Right. My name's Sarah. Can I call you Ji? For simplicity's sake?"

The fae creature also nodded. "Ji it is. And you're Sarah. Hmm, Sarah . . ." Ji stopped a moment to think again, "Now where have a heard that name before?" Just as Sarah was about to answer, suggesting that she might have some sort of reputation in the Underground for solving the mysterious Labyrinth, Ji squeaked in fright. "Eep! The sun is rising! Well, gotta go!" That said, she launched herself into the air and quickly ducked into the trees of the forest.

"Wait!" Sarah pleaded, jumping to her feet to chase after her new friend. "Wait, I need someone to help me find my way! Ack! No!" In her efforts to scurry after the sphinx, her grip on the crystal was forgotten and not soon after was it lost in the creak of flowing fresh water. She fell to her knees by the bank of the creak. It was deeper than it looked. Besides, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. A clear crystal in crystal clear water would be no easy task to find.

"That's the second time already! Give me a break." Vainly trying to look into the running water for her prize, she soon gave up. She supposed it wasn't that important anyway. Didn't really do anything else besides show her images. Maybe it brought her here. And if that were the case, maybe her only way back was with the crystal. Then she had to think – if Jareth had left her the crystals in the first place, surely he would come and find her eventually.

"What? To sweep you off your feet and live happily ever after?" scoffed Sarah to herself. Without the crystal, she would have no way home until someone else from this place helped her. "Things aren't always what they seem," she reassured herself, "Sure, for now you're all alone, but someone will help you . . . hopefully find you first, hope they're not homicidal, and the rest is a piece of cake. R-Right?" she asked no one in particular. Before long, she sat huddled on the grass by the bank, hugging her arms. It had grown curiously cold – or was it just her?

Ribbit.

Sarah brought her head up from her knees.

Ribbit.

She looked around, her dark hair tumbling down her shoulders. Very near her feet, she spotted a very plain looking green frog over which his front legs stood on a not-so-plain crystal sphere. She smiled, then laughed, and then nearly wanted to cry. So some fairytales are true after all, thought Sarah.

"Thank you, my handsome prince," she said happily, playing along. Gently, so as to not jostle the frog too much, she took back her sphere where she once again clutched it safely to her chest. "I suppose I should reward you with a kiss."

The frog looked at her expectantly, croaking in reply. In compliance, Sarah gently lifted the little amphibian in her hand and placed a very small, quaint kiss on his wet skin. She was a very good sport about it, scrunching her face only slightly and giggling as the frog's cold skin touched her nose. With a musical chime, the frog disappeared from her hand. Sarah, of course, expected no less being quite aware that she was in a land where anything and everything was possible.

But instead of meeting her prince, there upon the boulder near the creak leaned a handsome and lithe figured King.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER TWO

"Prince Charming fell ill and I had to take his place." Jareth's accented tone lilted in the fresh morning air. His mismatched eyes held a particularly mischievous glint in them, watching as Sarah cowered before him. He was smirking at her, wisps of his wild hair blowing about him in the morning breeze. "Now, now. Why the long face? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Sarah managed to scramble to her feet, clutching the sphere even tighter than before despite the fact that it must have been Jareth who gave her the gift in the first place. She searched her mind for something to say to this stunning, ageless fae man that stood before her. Displaying himself in nothing less than the finest clothing as he casually leaned against the boulder by the creak, he watched her.

"Jareth . . ." she said timidly. He gave her a feral smile before switching his attention to his glove and adjusting it as he spoke.

"You remember my name after all. I suppose I should feel flattered. Now, what is it that you want?"

"You're . . . you're not going to – hurt me, are you?" Sarah asked, trying her hardest to summon up courage. "I mean, after the last time we met I thought for sure you would . . ."

"I would what?" he asked, advancing upon her slowly, like a cat stalking its prey, "Turn you into a goblin? Throw you into my dungeons? Or worse yet, force you to spend eternity in my Bog of Stench?" A small nod from the girl before him was his response. He laughed, not in humor. "Exactly what sort of monster do you take me for?"

Her eyes flitted up to meet his, a sigh of relief escape her lips. She practically fell into his arms – practically. The immediate action that followed was not really an embrace in return, nor was her embrace even expected. It did, however, silence him very quickly. He stood very rigidly as this young mortal girl held him quite firmly around his middle, sobbing into his sleeve.

"You're reaction is very curious . . ." was all Jareth could even think to say, a finely shaped eyebrow raised over his eye.

"I'm just so glad," cried the girl, "that I'm really not going crazy. I'm so glad everything is real. I'm so glad . . ." Her body was quaking furiously, from stress, from nervousness, from fatigue. All those things converged into one powerful mixed emotion sent her body into a tremulous insurgence. She only had a moment to lift her blue-gray eyes towards his before closing them and going quite limp, forcing him to catch her before she fell to the ground. With gentle hands, Jareth held her frail form and slowly lowered her to lay upon the green grass of the clearing.

Resting upon one knee, his long coat spread about him in waves of royal blue and gold, he watched her in her peaceful rest.

"Real?" asked the Fae man, his accented voice floating softly through the morning air. "What is real, Sarah? The ground you lie upon? The air you're breathing? My touch?" the cool leather of his glove traced down her satin cheek. "Real is very relative, my dear, and is constantly defying the senses." He leaned down close to her face, examining her features with hungry eyes. A cocky grin tugged at his lips. In a swirl of prismatic colors, they vanished from the clearing.

* * *

Drifting out of a fitful rest is usually only enjoyed when your mind is settled into having no responsibilities when one awakes. Having no worries naturally makes a soft, feather down bed that much more comfortable. Sarah didn't even bother opening her eyes, feeling the smoothness of the fine quality sheets she lay upon, the mattress that melded to her relaxed form, and the warmth from the thick bedcovers. It felt ten times better than waking up on a Saturday afternoon after sleeping in all morning. She smiled, relieved at not having to listen to the blasted lawn mower that morning. Instead her ears were greeted with the sound of bird song coming from her window on her right.

Her eyes snapped open. The realization was sudden and obvious. She was not in her own bedroom. The window in her bedroom was to the left of her bed. Turning her head, she saw several ornate windows on her right embedded in the stone walls of this strange room, decorated with thick curtains that were pulled open. The curtains themselves looked very elegant and aristocratic, navy blue velvet lined with silver. How very strange. Sarah tried to think back on the events that occurred previously, trying to remember what could have lead to finding herself in this room.

It started with the crystal that appeared in her room. Yes, that was it. The crystal that showed her wondrous places and sped up time. Then it was the voices calling to her. They had been beckoning her, asking for her help. She had found herself at the park she frequented often, before her surroundings had changed and she was in a strange clearing with a strange little creature called a moon sphinx.

Sarah slowly sat up in bed and stretched a bit, wondering how long she had been asleep. A strange apprehension took hold of her then. The last person she remembered seeing was none other than Jareth. Of course, she thought, this must be his castle. Her room, she noticed, was very royal, if not small. Well, small for whatever she expected royal to be. Her bed was king sized, large enough to fit three people side by side comfortably. The sheets were white, while the bedcover was made to match the curtains, navy blue threaded with embroidered silver. Looking down upon herself, she noticed herself wearing a Victorian style nightgown of cream colored cotton.

She stood from her bed, feeling a rug greet her bare feet. Looking down, she saw a pair of slippers the same color as her bed cover and curtains. Someone must have gone through a lot of trouble to match everything, Sarah thought to herself. Gladly putting on the slippers, she went across the room to the vanity. It was made of deep cherry wood, with ornate carvings of wildlife around the frame of the mirror. Upon the vanity were several items. A silver handled hand mirror lay face down upon the wood. Near it, a brush of the same metal and design. On a satin pillow in the corner of the vanity rested some brooches of different designs, colors, and metals. While on the other corner lay a shallow crystal bowl that held several hair combs and other hair adornments.

It was relatively easy to guess, thought Sarah, that the Goblin king would not go so out of his way to make all his guests feel this welcome. But why was it her he treated this way? Unless it were all a ploy. Either way, she would have a lot of questions to ask him.

"_But what no one knew was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl . . ." _

Her mind suddenly echoed the words. Could it still be true? It was the only logical explanation Sarah could really give herself, thinking back to earlier in the day before she found the crystal on top of her desk. She remembered pleading with the empty air, calling the goblin king and asking him to take her away. So her wish had come true, then.

She sat down in front of the vanity mirror. Had she meant the wish? Sure, she had been depressed at that moment, having no one to support her and nothing to look forward to except life as yet another one of earth's worker bees. She found she couldn't quite breathe very well. With a trembling hand, she took the brush firmly in her grasp.

It was real. By the gods, it was real! She smiled, letting out a slight laugh from the relief and happiness she felt. Slowly, she brushed her raven hair, tidying up the silky tendrils from the bed-head she acquired in her rest. Despite how her mind might have reeled at her new and very strange situation, she really felt relieved and nearly at peace. Granted, she still had many questions that were just bursting forth to be answered. But here, in this place, there was an air that hung heavy and humid, like a comfortable blanket during the wintertime while sitting in front of a fireplace.

It was magic, and Sarah was sure of it. This, in and of itself, made her feel – for lack of a proper term – better.

Her hair groomed, she looked in the mirror briefly. A nightgown, no matter how nice it was, was not appropriate to wear when wandering about a castle. So, she went into the wardrobe. Strange, though, that when she opened the doors to the armoire in her room, all she saw to her disposal were a colorful collection of nightgowns, all of the same relative style for winter nights in a castle.

"How strange . . ." Sarah muttered to herself, closing the doors to the armoire. Maybe there was another chest of drawers to provide clothing. Or perhaps even find the clothing she remembered wearing when she arrived in this strange place. She still had not confirmed that she was in fact at the castle beyond the goblin city. A glance out the window of her spacious room did in fact confirm her suspicion.

The day was actually pleasant. The sky a color of purest azure, with hardly an inkling of any cloud in the bright sky. Looking out over the Labyrinth now, it didn't seem as daunting as it did when she was 15. Oh, granted at that time she hid behind a mask of confidence, a little arrogance perhaps, while battling the villainous Labyrinth that her self-proclaimed enemy tragically forced her to beat in order to win back the half brother she had wished away. Now, however, the Labyrinth simply looked magical and amazing – well, now that she was safe in the center of it.

How safe was safe in the Goblin King's castle, she had to ask herself. She had two choices of course, and both were in her favor. She would find out for herself if Jareth meant any harm or revenge for her. If this proved to be true, she would battle him yet again, confident in her victory as she had done this before, or she would simply leave before he had the chance to do anything. But if it proved false . . .

Sarah never thought past that before. She'd always just considered Jareth the villain in her story. But this was a different story, wasn't it?

She looked all around her room and discovered that she had no clothes to wear aside from the nightgowns she had in her armoire. Even the large oak chest at the foot of her four post bed held only extra blankets. Maybe she had missed some drawers in the armoire when she looked for clothing, so she opened the doors to the wardrobe again. Sarah let out a brief laugh. Where there were once comfortable cotton nightgowns, beautiful dresses of medieval style hung in their place. Again every color imaginable, with several different combinations of silver, gold, or floral embroidered trims. She chose a lavender dress with a slight shine to it, form fitting with gauzy long sleeves that extended at the cuffs.

She gazed at herself in the full length mirror by her vanity as she wore her chosen gown, twirling a bit from side to side and feeling much like a little girl again, playing dress-up. The dress fit perfectly. Of course, a magical wardrobe would be able to do such things, she thought to herself, even measure the wearer of its clothes with magic. Her hair pulled back and adorned it with a single comb bearing a purple rose embedded with a pearl, she found a comfortable pair of lady's slippers in the wardrobe and headed for the door.

It opened with a heavy creak, low and deep. Sarah pulled it open cautiously, quickly poking her head out and looking to see if anyone was around to hear the ghastly noise. The halls were completely empty and silent. Thank goodness for that. Strange though, that her room opened up not into a hallway, but a staircase. Walls and stairs alike were built with stones the color of sand, the sunlight that beamed through a window just next to her door was illuminating the stairway quite nicely. It made for a very pleasant atmosphere.

"What the . . .?" Sarah had to do a double take, as she noticed that the window very near her door showed the Labyrinth and sky and fields in the distance and everything . . . when by any practical means it should have viewed right into Sarah's bedroom. Her room wasn't so small that a window, placed as close as it was to her door, would be far enough from it to show outdoors. Curiosity overwhelmed her, and she went to the window and peered outside along the wall, expecting to see the outer wall of her room. But nothing was there! Not even the door.

Is it really so surprising, thought Sarah. She had to laugh at this discovery. So her room was in alternate space. She wondered if all the rooms were like that here. And if they were, than the Goblin King's castle was a whole lot bigger than what it seemed to be from the outside.

Closing her door, Sarah stepped down from the small sandstone platform before its threshold and descended the staircase quietly. At first, there really wasn't much to see. Just sandstone walls and windows that showed the Labyrinth. There weren't many pleasing things to the eye, even though she had imagined many great things of splendor being in the Goblin King's realm. She imagined that behind the villainous mask, he would have gardens, and artifacts, magical and incomprehensibly intricate and beautiful.

Well, there were no gardens when she looked down into what she assumed was the courtyard, dust ridden and deserted. The goblin city seemed to continue being in quite a state of disrepair, and the trash heap had also not disappeared. Eventually, she did come to an artifact, however. It wasn't as intricate and mind boggling, or even as beautiful as she would have imagined. But it was the first interesting thing she came across.

It was an urn, small and abrupt looking, seemingly stuck haphazardly into the niche in the wall and quickly forgotten – for quite a long time. There was dust all over it.

"You got a problem, lady?" said a voice, gruff and disgruntled. Sarah jumped, only slightly this time (she had begun to get used to things speaking to her at random). "Go on. Move along. Nothing to see here."

"H-Hello?" she tried, looking about her before looking at the urn once more. "Are you . . .talking to me?"

The lid of the urn flapped up and down when it replied, "No, the moron behind you. What do you think, lady?"

"Hey! You don't have to be rude about it!"

The urn heaved a heavy sigh. "Alright, I'm sorry." He said, "But I just can't stand it when people stare at me. I wasn't always like this, you know."

"How long have you been like that?" Sarah had to ask.

"I've lost count after I hit the 6 month mark …" replied the urn miserably. "Let me give you a warning. Don't get the king angry. This is what happens."

"Well, I'm sorry." Sarah really couldn't think of what else to say, but had to wonder just what it was that would make Jareth angry enough to turn one of his subjects (she assumed) into an urn. "Do you think you could give me some directions?"

"Directions? In this place? Ha! Not likely!" came the scorning remark of the urn.

Sarah harrumphed, her hands on her hips and look of dissatisfaction towards the urn. "You're no help at all!"

"Hey, hey! It's not that I don't want to help. But – well. This place is always changing. Directions aren't really possible. The stairs take you where they want to take you, unless they know you need to be somewhere. But sometimes they get mischievous and bored and like to play tricks on you when you're late delivering to the King an important message from one of the outer kingdoms and happen to end up opening the wrong door into the laundry room and stumbling into a tub full of water, ruining the important letter that was to be hand delivered…" Well, that explained how he came to be in such a sorry state. Jareth might have yet to show he was kind, but Sarah was quite certain of how temperamental he could get.

"Okay, I guess that helps a bit. I'll leave you alone now." The lid of the urn flapped only slightly as it grumbled something incoherent before going silent. A sparkle, reminiscent of a will o' wisp (only those were dangerous, and this plainly wasn't), appeared just down the staircase. It caught Sarah's eye immediately and, going by pure instinct, decided to follow it. Perhaps it would lead her to see Jareth, which wouldn't be unlikely. It _was_ his castle, after all.

The bright little sparkle of magic led her through a maze of staircases and hallways (these filled with glorious scenes of wilderness and fae). Finally, the sparkle came into a section of a wing that was dark, the light of the sparkle overpowering the darkness quite well. There were no windows.

_So glad you could join me_, came Jareth's lilting voice from no where in particular. _Please come inside._

Awed but unsure, Sarah timidly reached for the handle of the oaken doors that stood as twins before her, wary of any trickery. Before even touching the cool metal latch, both doors opened into a balcony, brightly lit with ethereal sunshine. A table, long and made of cherry colored wood, waited silently while dressed with fine lace trimmings and silver platters of the most delicious looking foods Sarah had ever seen. The floor was marble but covered with foliage fallen from the trees that found a bit of shelter for it's branches under the dome of the balcony.

Around the area were tresses covered with rainbow colored blooms, and a railing carved with Celtic tree branch designs. The view, however, was the most extraordinary of all. Sarah approached cautiously, as she could see over the railing a most wondrous expanse of rich, thick and bright forests, so vivid that the smell of the trees reached her nostrils tenfold more than any mortal world forest she's every encountered. Through the forest below was a sapphire river, sparkling in the late morning sunshine, it's run leading from a grand waterfall not so far from the little white balcony on which she stood. She could just barely feel the spray of mist. Still curious she looked down over the railing.

Immediately she shrank back and crouched, her grasp strong around the columns of the railing and her eyes tightly pursed.

"You needn't fear." Said Jareth, coming through the oaken door dressed in a fine blue iridescent long coat. His grin was cocked sideways, his boots making but a soft tread upon the foliage strewn floor.

"But – we're so high up! Where is this place?" Sarah asked.

"This place is nowhere." Replied the king, bending slightly to grasp Sarah's arms and lift her to her feet once more. She opened her eyes with the sudden movement. In that moment, they were closer than she ever remembered being – her face tilted upwards to meet his eyes, his breath upon her cheek . . .

"It is an illusion, my dear." Said Jareth. His face was still as cold as she remembered and no longer holding the mild amusement it had had that morning. He released her and pulled out a chair for her. "I thought you might enjoy this particular vista while we breakfasted." Eyeing him only a little less suspicious than before, Sarah gathered folds of fabric under herself as she sat at the table.

"It's – It's lovely. Thank you." She said, trying to smile. Jareth sat across from her at the opposite end of the long table. Pleased with himself, he grinned again.

"And I must say, you've chosen a lovely gown for today. Lavender is quite a good color for you." He leaned his head into his hand as he rested his elbow upon the table, gazing at her with a glint in his eyes and waited for a reaction.

"Again, thank you." Said Sarah, this time a little less patiently than before. At this point, it seemed clear that both she and Jareth were waiting for the other to reveal something – something insignificant or precious that would make or break the delicate line that held their relations civil as of yet. She was almost afraid to talk, afraid to say something. But there were things she needed to know, and so she devised a way of safely asking her questions.

"Why am I here, Jareth?" She noted that he was not eating as she had begun to, but rather was watching her enjoy the small feast by herself. It took a moment before Jareth even spoke in reply to her inquiry.

"Perhaps I should be the one asking such a question of you, Sarah."

She finished a morsel of fruit and swallowed the last bit before speaking. "Why is it you have brought me here, Jareth. I know it was you. I wished for it, I remember. Just before I saw one of your crystals lying on top of my desk."

"Ah, I think I understand. Just because you see a crystal, however similar to my own, you automatically assume that it must belong to me. Still taking things for granted, my dear Sarah."

Memories of the same frustration from long ago came flooding back to her. She clenched her fork tightly and attempted to answer civilly. "I've seen no one else with crystals like yours, so of course I would assume they were yours. What about the clearing. In the forest. You were there when . . ."

"I merely found you there. The point is, Sarah, that I did not in fact bring you here. And before you ask, I don't know who did."

"Well, that's absolutely no help whatsoever." Jareth didn't answer, yet he retained his cocky, arrogant expression toward Sarah. "You're lying. No, I know you're lying. You're a deceitful..."

"Wait..."

"Vengeful..."

"Stop..."

"Bastard of a man who won't lift a finger to do anything unless it were in your benefit."

"Now, that's quite enough." said Jareth strictly, though he still amazingly retained his calm. "I did not bring you here into the safety of my castle for you to insult me and my hospitality."

Sarah stood very quickly, nearly knocking back her chair. "Damn you and damn your hospitality! I want to know what the hell is going on!"

Jareth stood quite calmly, his expression stern however, and his eyes dark. "If that is what you wish . . ."

* * *

"Jareth! Jareth, you bastard! Let me out!" Sarah yelled from behind the heavy splintered wood door, pounding on it as hard as she could and not quite tall enough to view anything beyond the little barred window.

"Do not open this door for any reason unless I give you specific permission to do so." spoke Jareth to the short stature goblin guards situated at both sides of the door.

"Yes, your majesty." they replied in unison.

"Jareth, I swear . . . if you don't let me out of here I'll . . ."

"You'll what?" he laughed heartily, sarcastically, "Use your magic against me? Try your worst, my dear. If anything, I'm always up for a good laugh. Oh," he said, suddenly remembering a prior statement before he left her, "and I'm not the bastard of any man, so I very well couldn't be a bastard. You still have much to learn about this world, Sarah. I suggest you think about this very carefully: I could have left you in the that clearing without a second thought as pookas and other very nasty things came out to play with a helpless mortal."

"Pooka?"

"Nasty little fae who place mortals in peril purely for their own amusement."

"Sounds familiar."

"Quite," Jareth replied with a sarcastic snort. "Enjoy your day, Sarah."

"Jareth!" Sarah called after him, pounding the door again, harder than before and acquiring several splinters in the process. "Jareth, come back here! Stupid . . . bastard . . . Goddamn it!"

Jareth walked away with nary a guilty streak in his being for what he'd just done, his boots clicking heavily on the dank cobblestone hallways. He turned suddenly, a flash of prismatic rays swirling about him. He was within his private place, a small pocket dimension in his castle (like so many of the rooms) that was made up of mostly forest, indoor gardens. It was a small piece of where he had come from so long ago.

"You understand that the Queen will not be pleased once she gets word of how you're treating the girl."

Jareth merely quirked an eyebrow at the suddenness the voice reached his ears. Not surprised very often, Jareth nearly forgets what it feels like to be slightly startled. He wouldn't be very used to persons of his equal sneaking up on him, like this messenger for example. Not quite the backwater courier that travels from different kingdoms, sending messages back and forth and beyond. He wasn't dressed for such a part. No, he wore lavish fae clothing, he was tall and dark haired - and enough skill in magic to enter Jareth's private forest grove and gardens. This messenger was a moon elf. A courier for royalty.

"I bring you a long delayed message, Jareth. From the Queen of Tir na Nog."

_**A/N: **Ah, hi there. I'd like to thank all five of you who have graciously taken the time from your day to write a review for my story. It took me a few years, but I think I finally know which direction to take this one. So..._

_**Anonomous Reviewer: **I recognized the pace of the narrative being a little slow and I thank you for pointing it out. I will do my best to speed things up. It IS only a fanfic, anyway... I have to remember that it doesn't need to be perfect. Thank you for reviewing!_

_ **Lady of the Labyrinth:** I recognize you! You've been reviewing Labyrinth stories all over the place! I feel honored that you have stopped to review mine! Thank you!_

_**WildPixieChild: ** I'm glad you're enjoying it and I'll try to update as soon as possible._

_**Calendae: **Somehow another name I recognize... And you reviewed TWICE! Thank you very much. I must admit that Sarah's anguish in that prologue chapter was somewhat autobiographical - at the time, mind you. Sarah's 20 in this. I started writing this when I was 20. I'm 23 and married now. heh._

_**Emily Singing Reflection: **I'm glad you think my story deserves to be called "great"... I feel very undeserving and humbled. Thank you for your review._

_ I hope everyone comes back for more! Next chapter, coming up!_

_ Toodles,_

_C. Selene _


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